Why am i off beat when recording with a midi keyboard?

BeatsByD

BeatsByD

New member
Mostly i am click the notes in a piano roll with a mouse kinda guy but sometimes that gets boring and i try to make some music with my keyboard even though im not good at playing it at all.

I use FL Studio and i tried this with Reason too before.

Even though im pretty sure i press the notes on the keyboard on time, it records off beat. Why is that, do i just need more practice ?
 
Probably it's because of the latency. You should try image line's forums and help section on how to tweak the preferences to optimize FL for you to record.
 
Ddream said:
Probably it's because of the latency. You should try image line's forums and help section on how to tweak the preferences to optimize FL for you to record.
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I forgot to mention that i know about it can be a latency problem but even after i fixed that it seems like i am offbeat all the time.

When you see videos of people making beats it sounds like they are perfectly on beat, but when i do it i am either too quick or too slow.

I guess i just need to practice more
 
BeatsByD said:
I forgot to mention that i know about it can be a latency problem but even after i fixed that it seems like i am offbeat all the time.

When you see videos of people making beats it sounds like they are perfectly on beat, but when i do it i am either too quick or too slow.
I guess i just need to practice more
Click to expand...

Nah, you need to download asio4all (its free) instead of using your primary sound driver, because its your latency that ****ing you up i had the same problem b4 and also if your gonna be using midi keyboards and shit you should hook yourself up with an external sound card . .. . you probably already know that or either you need to get familiar with music theory and how to count beats using the right tempo (which is really simple and can be done)
 
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JewlsTee said:
Nah, you need to download asio4all (its free) instead of using your primary sound driver, because its your latency that ****ing you up i had the same problem b4 and also if your gonna be using midi keyboards and shit you should hook yourself up with an external sound card . .. . you probably already know that or either you need to get familiar with music theory and how to count beats using the right tempo (which is really simple and can be done)
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Listen to this guy. hes right.
 
rhythmgj said:
It could also be a quantizing issue...

GJ
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nah, hes recording notes... s/o to the 863 post you got tho

https://www.image-line.com/support/FLHelp/html/app_underrun.htm

Check the ASIO buffer length.


  1. Click the Show ASIO panel button and adjust the Buffer length. Remember that as the Buffer length is increased, underruns decrease, but the delay between playing a MIDI keyboard, tweaking a knob and the response of FL Studio also increases. The aim is to minimize the buffer size without causing buffer underruns. For ASIO drivers, settings of 1-4 ms (44-176 samples) are 'impressive' but unnecessary, 5-10 ms (220-440 samples) are 'excellent' and 11-20 ms (485-882 samples) are 'very good'. We recommend a 10 ms (441 samples) minimum setting.
  2. PPQ setting - The PPQ setting sets the time resolution for the current project. Settings above 192 PPQ can have a significant impact on CPU load. Set to 96 PPQ unless you need the extra resolution
  3. ​Obtaining the absolute lowest Buffer length settings is not a competition. If you are happy with 20 or 30 ms then that's great. Remember, the lower the buffer length setting, the higher the CPU load. We recommend 10 ms (ASIO mode) as a good minimum setting, below this most people don't experience improved 'responsiveness' and the CPU load climbs rapidly. To put 10 ms in context, the delay between pressing a key on a real piano and the hammer hitting the strings is in the order of 80 ms and the time taken for that sound to reach your ears is a further 3 ms, something to ponder.
 
It could be quantization but I think what the OP is after is not needing to quantize the notes because they flow so damn good anyway.

It sounds like it's latency alright, but also make sure the keyboard is synced correctly with your DAW so that it is in tandem with the tempo of your project. Clutching at straws here, though.
 
JewlsTee said:
Nah, you need to download asio4all (its free) instead of using your primary sound driver, because its your latency that ****ing you up i had the same problem b4 and also if your gonna be using midi keyboards and shit you should hook yourself up with an external sound card . .. . you probably already know that or either you need to get familiar with music theory and how to count beats using the right tempo (which is really simple and can be done)
Click to expand...

really? you can tell that without asking about:
what his soundcard is,
what his os is,
what ram he has allocated,
what the processor is,
etc ???????

- there are so many things to eliminate before we can even begin to say substitute the drivers for something that may or may not fix the problem

I would go with the op's feeling that he has musical timing issues not machine timing/latency problems without any evidence other than his saying that he thinks he might hit too early sometimes and too late at other times - that is an indication of a musical issue not a machine performance issue
 
bandcoach said:
really? you can tell that without asking about:
what his soundcard is,
what his os is,
what ram he has allocated,
what the processor is,
etc ???????

- there are so many things to eliminate before we can even begin to say substitute the drivers for something that may or may not fix the problem

I would go with the op's feeling that he has musical timing issues not machine timing/latency problems without any evidence other than his saying that he thinks he might hit too early sometimes and too late at other times - that is an indication of a musical issue not a machine performance issue
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yeah I understand where your coming from but that is also this why is ended off saying; if he already knows about the latency issue (as he stated already in a response on the thread) and if not the issue then he should get familiar with music theory.

Also the OP didn't even mention having a soundcard or any setup other than a midi keyboard assuming he was using a midi cable going directly going into a maybe slow computer's usb port because when i started i was using a piece of carp old WinXP desktop so I couldn't really seem to piece together why the OP is still having latency issues (who know's what his computer specs are)
and its not like its only my opinion he's gonna rely on if he thinks otherwise he still has a handful of other peoples opinions here to troubleshoot with (including yours). j.s
 
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I used to have problems then I upgraded from a pos windows xp slimline desktop to a alienware laptop -,- ....i pwn the shit out of latency.
 
but this not a latency issue this is a timing issue very different things

latency will always make you late

timing can make you late or early

the op states quite clearly that

BeatsByD said:
I forgot to mention that i know about it can be a latency problem but even after i fixed that it seems like i am offbeat all the time.

When you see videos of people making beats it sounds like they are perfectly on beat, but when i do it i am either too quick or too slow.
Click to expand...

too quick translates to too soon or too early

too slow translates to too late

i.e. it is a musical performance timing problem not a latency issue
 
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Yeh man, I find that the perception continues to change after a big mix. It really sucks with it not matching up but theres often times nothing you can do about it.

You have to practice getting your fingers not to know your perception.

Also a tip is to turn on your computer to 100 percent. I wont do Macs. haha no pun.

I can get some cool stuff from being off on accident, but I can always move it over later.
 
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